Spain's Word of the Year

2014 Word of the Year

The word of the year selected by the Fundación del Español Urgente is one that doesn't even exist in the dictionary of the Royal Academy, the keeper of the Spanish language flame, and you may be surprised at which word it is. Curiously this word was first used by an inebriated Australian in 2002 and in its literal translation in Spanish is autorretrato or autofoto. But in Spain it is more common to see selfie or selfi.

The word selfi has beaten other words like dron (drone) or nomofobia (fear of being without your smartphone) which have become commonly heard words this past year. More traditional words like abdicar (to abdicate) or impago (default) have also been heard more reflecting current events and the economic reality felt my many people today in Spain. Also interesting to note, the word selfie was selected as the Word of Year in 2013 by the Oxford Dictionary after this word experienced a 17,000% increase in use among English speakers.

It is important to note that the Spanish Royal Academy knowingly left out the word selfi (or one of its other variations) from the latest edition of the DRAE that was released this year. Surprisingly, other words like amigovio (something comparable to being in the friend zone), papichulo (mac daddy in my 80s slang) and pícher (baseball pitcher) have been included. But selfie has been excluded since it didn't meet the criteria of the Academy as a word that has proven itself to be one that will stand the test of time (as though papichulo will?).

This foundation which supported by the Fundación BBVA, has as its mission to promote proper usage of Spanish in the media while striving to be flexible and reflect the language as it is being used today. In December of 2013, this foundation recommended that the media employ the word autorretrato as an acceptable Spanish alternative to the English Selfie. However seeing the unstoppable surge in the use of Selfi among Spanish speakers this foundation not only has awarded it Word of the Year status but it has changed its recommendation to media outlets accepting that selfi (without the e) is an acceptable word to use.

This practical approach to language is something that the Real Academia has been accused of ignoring, preferring to focus on a Spain-centric approach to language and refusing to accept Americanisms from the different varieties of Spanish spoken in Latin America. But since 1992, the Real Academia works with 21 national Spanish language academies to decide which words will be selected for the dictionary. In the United States alone there are more than 55 million Spanish speakers (more than the entire population of Spain) and in 2012 the American Academy of the Spanish Language announced the inclusion of estadounidismos or words that are exclusively spoken in the United States like paralegal, van, email, parada (parade) and hispanounidense. Even the word estadounidismos is a word that the Royal Academy needed to adopt to reflect the changing face of the Spanish language. In the most recent edition there are now 19,000 americanismos (words used primarily in the Americas, including the United States).

On the surface, Spanish may seem like a language unwilling to evolve but as you can see this language is more than alive. Regardless of what the Real Academia decides or doesn't decide, people will continue to employ the language that best suits them and reflects their thoughts and ideas. Tuit, impasse, homoparental and mileurista are just some of the words that have been recognized by the Royal Academy this year but there are still plenty of other words that are being used that haven't been officially recognized like apli (an alternative to app), árbitra (female referee) or postureo (posturing). Thanks to organizations like the Fundación BBVA these words are finding support and are helping to move the language forward in way that reflects the reality of the evolution of a language.